Mural Painter
by PerrythePlatypusGirl
Summary: Rapunzel's classmate Audrey is very pretty and very quiet. But Rapunzel would never have guessed that she had a rather interesting secret. Modern AU. Audrunzel.


Audrey was, as many would describe her, the quiet art student. Most people didn't know much about her aside from that. There were some rumors that she essentially lived alone and had to to everything alone, but that seemed unrealistic. She was still technically a minor, so she couldn't live alone, and quite frankly, Rapunzel wasn't sure if Audrey even had time for normal things like eating and sleeping when she seemed to live and breathe art.

It seemed a little premature to call her "mysterious," since she was probably just shy, but Audrey seemed to attract Rapunzel's attention for reasons that she couldn't place. Audrey was definitely pretty, for sure, and from what Rapunzel had seen in their art class, the girl was insanely talented to the point where Rapunzel wasn't sure whether to be awed or jealous. She could always go talk to her-Rapunzel was never exactly shy-but Audrey made her nervous. Again, she wasn't sure why. Maybe because she _was_ so mysterious.

It was another Monday morning at her high school when Rapunzel walked into her art classroom, followed closely by her cousin Anna. Audrey was seated in her usual seat, already heard at work sketching as usual. Rapunzel cast a quick glance at her before sitting down at her own table and listening to whatever Anna had to say.

"So," Anna began. "Have you seem the news about the mural artist?"

Rapunzel smirked. "You mean the vandalist that they can't seem to catch for some reason?"

Anna snickered. "Yeah. Embarrassing. They struck again last night. Apparently they got one of the walls on the town hall. The mayor was soooo pissed off."

"The _town_ _hall_? And nobody was able to catch them?"

"I know, right?" Anna laughed and pulled out her phone. "Here, let me show you some pictures of the mural. It's absolutely gorgeous, as usual, and I thought your artistic mind would love it."

Anna turned her phone toward Rapunzel, who immediately marveled. It was insane how someone could finish an entire mural on a wall on one night, without getting caught, with this level of beauty. The mural artist may have been a criminal, but Rapunzel couldn't help but look up to them, just a little bit.

The five-minute bell rang right then, and Anna was forced to run off to her own classroom. Rapunzel laughed at her cousin's ridiculousness, but quickly began to work on her own art. Still, though, the image of colorful painted trees with their oddly political message stayed in the back of her mind all day.

* * *

It wasn't until a couple of nights later that Rapunzel came face-to-face with the matter once again. This time, quite literally.

"Rapunzel, are you sure you want to walk home by yourself? It's awfully dark out by now."

Rapunzel turned to Elsa with an innocent smile. "Ah, come on, Elsa, it's only a couple blocks, I'll be fine."

But Elsa shook her head. "No, I don't want to send you off by yourself. Wait here, Anna and I will grab our stuff, and we'll walk you home."

Rapunzel sighed but nodded. She stayed outside on doorstep, waiting as her cousins went to retrieve their things. For a moment, it was all quiet.

But then, Rapunzel heard some odd noises coming from the back of the condo building. Standing up in curiosity, the girl listened closer. It sounded like...spraying? And it was coming from very nearby.

Rapunzel hesitated, unsure if she should move, but decided that going off to investigate for a few minutes wouldn't be so bad. She quickly trotted off the doorstep and followed the sound, turning around a corner and stopping to peek past the wall. What she saw nearly made her choke.

Somehow, a teenage girl in black clothing had managed to grab a ladder that reached to the third floor of the condo, and was currently hard at work spray-painting something onto the back wall.

This couldn't be the same mural painter she's been hearing about, right? It seemed odd that they would scale back from the town hall to a random condo, and even odder that they were so young. But, as Rapunzel looked up to see what had already been painted, she knew this was the one. The style was simply too distinct.

...come to think of it, it also reminded her of a similar painting style that she'd seen in her art class. But that couldn't be the same person, could it?

Her curiosity reaching its peak, Rapunzel tiptoed closer to the person, trying to get a closer look. The girl was clad head to toe in black, with a hat covering her hair, but had made the mistake of leaving her face exposed. And now, only a few feet away, Rapunzel's suspicions were confirmed.

" _Audrey_?!"

Audrey immediately stopped at the noise. Panicking, she dropped her spray paint in her attempt to find who had called her out, but, unfortunately, she immediately slipped and fell off the ladder herself. "Ahh-!"

Rapunzel lept into action. Hastily jumping into place, she held out her arms to catch the falling girl, cradling her close and saving her from injury.

For a moment they were both still. While holding Audrey in her arms, Rapunzel noticed two things: that Audrey was bustier than she looked, and that she was currently staring at her in utter shock.

It was Rapunzel who broke the silence first. "Uh...are you okay?"

Audrey blinked, and quickly hopped to the ground to dust herself off. "I-I..I'm fine."

"Why were you...um." Rapunzel bit her lip and smiled sheepishly. "You're, uh...are you the mural painter from the news...?"

Audrey turned back to her with a pleading expression. "Please, don't tell anyone. I-I promise, I mean no harm. I'm just...nobody would listen to me, and...please don't tell, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel hesitated, shifting from on foot to another. "Audrey, you know it's illegal."

"I know. I'm sorry. Please, I'm begging you."

"Okay," Rapunzel said slowly, unable to resist the poor girl's pleas. "I promise I won't tell. But why-"

"Rapunzel!" Elsa and Anna's worried cries interrupted their conversation.

Rapunzel jumped, and silently cursed herself for staying away for too long. Audrey, on the other hand, grabbed her spray paint cans, cast one more look at Rapunzel, and sprinted away without another word.

"Rapunzel, where did you go?"

Rapunzel snapped out of her trance and hurried back to the porch, where her cousins were waiting anxiously. "I'm here, you guys!"

"Oh, good," Elsa replied with relief. "Where did you run off to? You scared us."

Rapunzel rubbed her arm. "Sorry, I...heard something and went to investigate..."

Elsa frowned. "You can't just go chasing after random noises at night."

"I know. Sorry, Elsa. But, no worries, it was just...a squirrel."

Anna and Elsa raised their eyebrows at her, not seeming to buy it. Rapunzel hated to lie to them, but she held her ground. Finally, Anna simply shrugged. "Ok then. Let's get going."

Rapunzel let out the breath she'd been holding. She let Anna take over the conversation from there...she couldn't talk because her heart was still pounding.

* * *

The next day at school, Rapunzel finally took initiative and slipped into the he seat right across from Audrey.

The other girl immediately stiffened, probably fearing a bunch of questions or maybe a threat of blackmail.

But Rapunzel had no intention of any of that. She smiled softly, if a little eagerly. "Don't worry. I'm good at keeping secrets. But, there's something I've been meaning to say to you for a little while."

Audrey looked confused. "What?"

Rapunzel smiled even wider. "Your work is _amazing_!" She paused for a moment to watch Audrey's mouth drop before continuing. "I just...I don't know how you do it, it's so fast, but detailed at the same time! And they way you give all your tress a unique shape, and that composition, like-wow!" She leaned forward, her heart fluttering a little when she noticed Audrey blush at the praise. "I already knew your paintings from class were good, but _jeez_ , you have to show me your secrets!"

It took Audrey a moment to recover, but then she visibly relaxed, an embarrassed smile crossing her face as she looked down sheepishly. "Ah, well, it's not...that great. I guess I just practice a lot. At home, mostly. The back wall of my house is pretty empty."

"You paint on your house too?"

"Yeah, it's a good canvas."

"But then, why do you...you know...?"

Audrey stopped smiling and she looked away. "Um. It's a little complicated." She paused, then spoke slowly. "If you want...you can come over to my house today or something, and I can show you all my stuff and explain."

Rapunzel's eyes widened. "That would be great! I'd love to see how you paint. I mean, I've wanted to ask you for a while now, but I was always so nervous, but now, I just really need to see."

Audrey smiled again. "What? You, nervous to talk to me? But you're so popular, and I'm...yeah."

"You're pretty great," Rapunzel gushed. "And what can I say? Skill like yours can be...intimidating."

This made Audrey giggle. Like, a straight-up giggle with her hand over her mouth and everything. It was so cute. "Heh, I'm really an average at best. But here, I'll put my number in your phone so we can meet up later."

The rest of the day seemed to whizz by, and Rapunzel was barely aware of it. She said goodbye to her friends at the school gate, saying that she had to leave earlier than usual because of homework. Then she excitedly made her way over to where Audrey was waiting so they could walk to her house.

They made small talk on the way home, Rapunzel's palms sweating every time she made eye contact with the other girl. She hoped Audrey couldn't tell.

Her house was a tall, quaint building identical to many others on the street. The inside seemed homey and comfortable, but a little bit empty.

"Where are your parents?" Rapunzel asked curiously. Surely the rumors about Audrey weren't true.

But Audrey merely shrugged. "They don't come home until later. Come on, I'll show you what I painted outside."

As promised, the back of Audrey's house was covered top to bottom with colorful trees, and the sight made Rapunzel gasp audibly with glee. "Oh my goooosh, this is amazing!" She squealed. "How the heck did you do this?"

"Ladders," Audrey answered simply. "I wish I had rock climbing gear or something so I could just hang from my house and paint, but I'm not adventurous enough to own something like that."

"Uh-huh, says the girl who sneaks out at night to illegally paint on people's property."

Audrey pouted. "That's...different."

Rapunzel sat down on the grass and huffed. "I'd still like to know why you do it, though. Why do you risk getting in trouble just to paint on walls when you've got your own giant canvas right here?"

Audrey sighed and sat down next to her. She was quiet for a moment, then spoke softly. "It's...kinda hard to explain. I guess I just want people to listen."

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow.

Audrey continued. "It's just...painting is my way of expressing myself. I don't have any friends, my parents are hardly around, and there's nobody for me to talk to about how I feel. So I paint."

She paused. "And, well...sometimes, I just have a lot to say, but no way to say it. Nobody ever expects me to have... _political_ opinions. Normally, I could just paint on my house or in a sketchbook, but then nobody would see it. I wouldn't be able to communicate what I want to say."

Rapunzel nodded slowly. "And what is this...political opinion that you want people to see?"

Audrey scoffed. "The mayor. I absolutely _hate_ Aloysius O'Hare." Her expression grew more frustrated upon just saying the name. "He's corrupt, and selfish, and cares more about money than people. And he has _no_ regard for nature."

Rapunzel couldn't help but smile at her conviction. "So that's why you chose trees as your spokespeople," she giggled. "I get you though. I have no idea how he got elected."

"Right?" Audrey threw her hands up in the air. "But I'm not the type of person to...make a political speech, or start a protest, or anything like that. I'm too shy. And nobody else seemed aware of the environmental mess he's causing...but ever since I started painting the murals, people have been taking notice and actually agreeing! I feel like I've accomplished something."

She paused again, and but her lip. "But...now I can't stop. I feel like people are just waiting to see where the next mural is going to pop up. It's like they're just a spectacle now."

Rapunzel leaned back at her hands, staring up at the house, and thought this over. "I mean...you've gotten your point across, haven't you? You don't need to stress about it anymore."

"I guess, but I'm afraid people would just forget." Audrey sighed and rested her head on her arms. "I don't know, you're probably right. I should just stop. If I only had someone to talk to from the start, I wouldn't have had to rely on this."

This made Rapunzel sit up with a smile. "Well, you can talk to me!" She paused when Audrey looked at her. "I-I mean...I'm not as passionate about this sort of thing as you, but I'm always willing to listen. My friends say I'm good at that."

Audrey stared at her for a long moment. Rapunzel was worried that she'd said something wrong, but then Audrey smiled softly at her. "I can see why you're so popular," she mused. "Thanks, Rapunzel. I'd...probably be at the police station right now if I'd been found out by someone other than you."

The butterflies were back in Rapunzel's stomach, and she pushed her brown hair behind her ear. "Oh, yeah, of course. Anytime."

They both sat there in the warm sun for a while longer, not speaking. Then, Audrey stretched out her arms and started to stand. "So, uh...I've got a bunch of supplies in my room. You wanna...help me add some more to this mural?"

Rapunzel's eyes immediately widened. "Wait, really? Oh my gosh, I-I'd love to!"

Audrey laughed a little, then turned to lead the way into the house as Rapunzel stood. "Okay, awesome! Just a head's up, my room is pretty messy. Sorry in advance if you trip, or...fall into paint or something. It's where all of my failed experiments go."

"That's ok, failure is important to progress!"

"Of course."

* * *

Audrey didn't show up at school for the next two weeks.

The first day after the visit to Audrey's house, Rapunzel had been irrationally happy to the point where her friends raised their eyebrows at her. But that feeling quickly dissolved into worry when Audrey was continually absent from class, and didn't answer any of her texts.

It was yet another Monday morning. Rapunzel was in her seat, frowning down at the table in front of her, while Anna was sitting on said table and looking at her thoughtfully.

After a few seconds, Anna coughed. "Hey, Punz, is everything okay? You've been oddly quiet lately."

Rapunzel blinked up at her cousin and sighed. "Yeah, sorry, it's just...I'm worried about someone." She nodded over to Audrey's empty seat. "You know Audrey, the girl who usually sits over there? She hasn't been showing up lately."

Anna frowned. "Huh. Well, maybe she dropped the class or something."

"Not likely. She basically thrives on art."

"Maybe she moved?"

Rapunzel frowned. "I mean, maybe...but she hasn't been answering my texts."

Anna raised a questioning eyebrow at this. "Hm. Did you become friends with her or something? Last I heard from you, she was just the loner girl who never talked to anyone."

"Oh, really?" Rapunzel giggled sheepishly. "Uh, yeah, we've been...talking, and hanging out, occasionally..."

Anna squinted. "Hanging out?"

"Yeah, I mean, she invited me over to her house, and we painted for a while. Nothing huge."

"Why are you blushing?"

Rapunzel stopped and her hands flew to her warm face. "Wh-what? I-I'm not blushing..."

Anna seemed unconvinced and leaned in closer. "Rapunzel..." she asked slowly. "Are you gay?"

" _No_!" A pause. "Er... _possibly_..."

Anna didn't move for a good two seconds, then immediately sat up straight and squealed way more loudly than she should have.

Rapunzel nearly jumped out of her skin as everyone in the room turned to stare. "Anna what-?! Be _quiet_ , oh my god-!"

The five-minute bell rang, and Anna hopped off the table to leave, but she wasn't quite done. "You need to tell me everything! I need all the details, okay?"

"What details? I already told you everything!"

"See you at lunch!"

Rapunzel huffed and sat back in her chair, hiding her face as best as she could and waiting for the class to start. Before the official bell rang, however, someone barreled into the classroom, out of breath, and immediately ran to talk to the teacher.

Rapunzel stiffened. Audrey! She was back! She was okay!

Audrey finished whatever she was talking about with the teacher, and Rapunzel tried to catch her gaze as she walked over to her desk. But Audrey wouldn't look at her.

Once again, Rapunzel found it hard to focus on her work when Audrey seemed to be avoiding her. It was like that for the whole class period, and now Rapunzel was more worried than ever.

After class, Rapunzel marched over to Audrey and cleared her throat. "Ummm...are you okay?"

Audrey finally turned to look her in the eye. The poor girl looked so tired, and upset. Her gaze on Rapunzel looked like a glare for a moment, but she slowly relaxed and looked down. "I'm fine."

"You were gone for a while," Rapunzel said hesitantly. "And you never replied to my texts. I, um...what happened?"

Again, Audrey didn't reply for a moment. But then she sighed, looked up at Rapunzel with sad eyes, and mumbled, "I got found out."

Rapunzel's jaw dropped. "I-what? I didn't hear about-" she gulped. "Audrey, I promise I didn't tell anyone."

Audrey gave a hollow laugh. "Nah, I know it wasn't you. It was actually my mom who caught me." She sighed and ran a hand through her long orange hair. "My parents had to pay a lot of fines for the vandalism I caused. They were really mad. It's only by sheer luck that my face isn't all over the local news. I don't want to get into it."

"Audrey, I'm so sorry."

Audrey shrugged. "I guess I got off easy when you think about it. "I'm just not allowed to paint outside of school anymore."

"Oh, but that's your passion..."

"I'll survive. I had it coming."

It was quiet for a moment. "So..." Rapunzel began. "What are you going to do now?"

Audrey hesitated. "Well, I mean...I was thinking I could just...talk to you."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I mentioned that paint was the only way of expressing myself since I had nobody to talk to, but, now that I've got...you..." she stopped, turning away in embarrassment. "Uh, actually, never mind. I wouldn't want to just rant at you all the time-"

"No, no, it's ok! You can talk to me!" Without thinking, she reached out and took Audrey's hands in her own. "I mean, I offered, didn't I? I'm here to listen, Audrey."

Audrey blinked in surprise. She looked at Rapunzel, then down at their connected hands, saying nothing.

Rapunzel realized what she'd done and quickly dropped her hands, turning red. "Uh, sorry I didn't...that wasn't too invasive, was it?"

"N-no, its fine." Audrey coughed, hiding behind her hair for a moment. "Uh, thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem." Rapunzel paused, rubbing the back of her head for a moment before clearing her throat. "Uh, if you want to, later, maybe we can go grab some coffee? And some treats to make you feel better. On me, of course."

Audrey blinked, then giggled quietly. "Sure, I'd like that."

They both grinned widely. But then the five minute bell for their next class interrupted their moment and made them both jump. "Uh-shoot, I need to go," Rapunzel said, grabbing her backpack and turning to leave. "See you after school, Audrey!"

"Bye!"

Rapunzel somehow made it to her next class on time, breathing a sigh of relief. She was glad everything was okay for Audrey, or at the very least, they would be soon. As for Rapunzel, her heart was still pounding from running across campus, but something told her it was for other reasons too.

* * *

* **sets up an elaborate universe just for a ship fic and then drops it like the heathen I am***

 **lmao so I've been meaning to write an Audrunzel fic for like a year anyway. I basically invented the ship so I figured it was my duty. And this is what I came up with x3 Please review!**


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